RIYADH - EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Tuesday he backed Saudi efforts to resolve the political crisis in Lebanon, in a visit to Riyadh on a Middle East tour aimed at easing the stalemate.
"We support all the efforts that Saudi Arabia is making in this field as well," Solana told reporters after talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.
Solana, who arrived in Riyadh from Beirut late on Monday, added that he would consult again with the Saudi leadership after visiting Damascus on Wednesday and meeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Solana was due to meet Saudi King Abdullah later Tuesday.
Oil-rich Saudi Arabia has spearheaded attempts to resolve the crisis between the Western-backed government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, with which it has close links, and the opposition led by the Shiite movement Hezbollah, which has Iranian and Syrian support.
At a news conference with Siniora in Beirut on Monday, Solana said he would hold "frank discussions" in Syria on its ties with Lebanon, where many people blame Damascus for a series of deadly bomb attacks.
On his first visit to Syria in two years, Solana said he will also address the issue of the UN tribunal due to try suspects in the 2005 murder of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri. The assassination has been widely blamed on Syria, but Damascus strongly denies any involvement.
Arab diplomatic sources in Riyadh told AFP on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia is working on hosting a reconciliation meeting between Lebanon's anti-Syrian parliamentary majority and the pro-Damascus opposition next week.
03/13/2007 14:44 GMT